


foreign student

by Musta_aurinko



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Alternate Universe, Judar as Sindria's magi AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:55:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musta_aurinko/pseuds/Musta_aurinko
Summary: Maybe it was difficult for Hakuryuu to get allies in Kou, but he could always seek those out abroad. That's why he makes his way towards Sindria, a country known for its djinns and magi.AU where Judar is Sindria's magi.
Relationships: Judal | Judar/Ren Hakuryuu
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	foreign student

**Author's Note:**

> it...it bloated in length on accident...

Al-Thamen's witch. His uncle and cousins. Kou Empire being led to greatness through conquest. You could defend that as a valiant effort for uniting the world or criticize the bloodshed it brought. However, Hakuryuu rarely thought of that. The death of his father and brothers meant the end of his life as he knew it. Gone were his status and any level of respect he received from anyone, replaced with years and years of his young life spent scheming how to pay this all back to the one who caused it. And after years of good behaviour, he was granted a permission to go study abroad.

What would be a better location to pick than Sindria? It offered great learning opportunities for foreigners even of his status, it was far away from the prying eyes of Kou and, what’s most important, it was ruled by the High King of the Seven Seas, Conqueror of seven dungeons, Sinbad. Maybe Hakuryuu had zero chances of getting support in his home country but if there was someone on his side from a foreign one...

So here Hakuryuu was, stepping off the ship on Sindrian soil. King Sinbad and three of his generals were there to greet him. He was welcomed warmly, but Hakuryuu was smart enough to know it was mostly for appearances. The relationship between Kou and Sindria wasn’t openly hostile, but there was definitely tension there. After the pleasantries were over, Sinbad left with one of the generals – Masrur – and Hakuryuu was left with Ja’far and Spartos.

“Since there is supposed to be battle training, Spartos would be a good teacher for you. He knows spearmanship better than anyone else on this island”, Ja’far explained to him. He turned to look at Spartos, who nodded at him, and then back to Ja’far.

“I am thankful for your hospitality”, Hakuryuu said, truly meaning it, but Ja’far waved it off.

“Anyone with good intentions is allowed in Sindria, regardless of their background. Normally someone like you might be treated with suspicion, but I have a feeling that you didn’t come here as an enemy of Sindria on behalf of your home country”, Ja’far was fairly convinced, trusting his gut feeling. “Maybe it’s more of the opposite.”

Hakuryuu didn’t deny that. He didn’t know how his aim in the country would be received and what response he would get, but he must have let his insecurity show through his expression because Ja’far smiled with reassurance.

They showed Hakuryuu around and where he would be living, but the peaceful evening was interrupted by an attack of a giant sea monster. Instead of fear, it was like the whole population was filled with excitement. A girl named Pisti chuckled at Hakuryuu’s stunned expression at the sight. “Don’t worry about it!”

A barrier of ice surrounded the beast as a long-braided magician flew to it, restricting its movements. At the same time, the sword-wielding general named Sharrkan used a household vessel to cut the monster to pieces. Everyone cheered at the victory and Sinbad’s announcement of a Maharagan festival, but Hakuryuu’s thoughts were more focused the magician who was now back on the ground, smugly taking in every praise shouted his way by the jubilant crowd. If he wanted to get a djinn for himself, who better to reach out to than a magi?

At the hour of the festival, Hakuryuu approached the table were Sinbad and some generals were sitting.

“Pour some wine for our guest!” the clearly drunk Sharrkan announced with a smile as he immediately clung over Hakuryuu’s shoulders. _“For the love of...”_ Ja’far was mumbling to himself as he tried to pull Sharrkan back. Sinbad decided to introduce them.

“This is Sharrkan, though I am sure you already know that. And on this side”, Sinbad pointed to a long bench to his right, “sits this country’s magi, Judar.” And the magi waved at him casually, scanning the prince in front of him with his red eyes, while Hakuryuu bowed a polite greeting. He went to sit next to the magician.

“Sooooooo...” Judar began, clearly better at handling alcohol than some of the others at the table, “a foreigner from the east? I can see that much.”

“Yes, I come from Kou”, Hakuryuu replied. He was thinking of a way to reach to this magi and get what he needed out of him.

“Kou! I was born there”, Judar tells him, and Hakuryuu turns to look at him instead of the food-covered table.

“Really? What brought you over to Sindria?” A magi from Kou who still decided to help another country instead? Judar seemed to be thinking about how to answer for a moment, before eventually saying simply: “Force”.

Hakuryuu looked questioning, but Judar didn’t elaborate. “How about you? What brought you here?” Judar asked while rummaging through fruit plates looking to snatch all the peaches specifically.

“Sindria has a lot of opportunities, training and studies wise, and powerful allies to be made...” Hakuryuu tried to sway the conversation just the direction he was aiming for.

“Allies? Has Kou become so horrible you need to look for “allies” from other countries?”

“You have to if it’s the imperial court you’re unpopular in.”

At hearing this, Judar suddenly focused all his attention on Hakuryuu. “Who were you again?”

“Hakuryuu Ren, Fourth Prince of Kou.”

And Judar stopped leaning over the table and sat back down on the bench, looking at Hakuryuu intently with suspicion. “Then you are a son of... Gyokuen Ren?” he asked, but it was more of a statement he knew the answer to. However, Hakuryuu wasn’t expecting this, and the images of his horrible mother flashed back to his mind. The fire and Hakuyuu’s final words to him... Hakuryuu was staring at Judar with a frozen face, while Judar was staring right back with a pair of piercing red eyes. They reminded Hakuryuu of the flames.

When Hakuryuu didn’t say anything after a while, Judar suddenly relaxed and went back to his peach hunt at the table. “I see”, he said, and Hakuryuu wasn’t sure if that was a good or a bad sign.

After the party was over and everyone was heading to bed, the king approached his magi.

“You got a good look at the Kou Prince. With your people reading skills, what motivation do you think he has? Is he a threat to our country?” Sinbad asked, and Judar glanced behind at him. “Am I a mind reader?”

“So you don’t know then?” Sinbad asked, a bit annoyed.

“Of course I do! I am a magi after all”, Judar said proudly with head held high.

“So what is it then?” Sinbad asked, a lot annoyed.

“I think that...” Judar seemed to be thinking for a moment, “he plans things that are to _my_ benefit, certainly.”

Sinbad was silent before asking: “ _Your_ benefit, but what about the country?”

Judar started to walk away. “Good night!” he waved.

“Don’t just leave the conversation!” Sinbad tried to call him back, still knowing that it was impossible. Sindria’s magi was powerful, but there was no force that could change his mind when he decided he wanted to do something. Not even the king. “You’re insufferable!”

Next morning, the kingdom seemed to be getting up slowly and late. Hakuryuu was up early, sticking to his routines, and he wandered looking around. Sindria was laid back and informal, quite different from the militaristic strictness of Kou. Still, Hakuryuu felt like he couldn’t just strip of his formal mannerisms. Luckily, he wasn’t the only one as his teacher Spartos was also sticking to his religion’s traditions amid the Sindrian culture that was quite unmatching to it. Despite the fact that he didn’t need to; Sasan culture only expected you to follow it when in Sasan.

In Spartos, Hakuryuu found a sparring partner even on that morning.

“How would you break your opponent’s block in this position?” Spartos asked while holding his lance as a shield.

“I’ve actually learnt some magoi manipulation, so I’d probably try to break the shield with it”, Hakuryuu explained.

Spartos relaxed his posture. “In that case, we should focus more on parrying.”

“Are people here aware of magoi manipulation?” Hakuryuu asked out of curiosity when Spartos seemed to know what Hakuryuu was talking about.

“King Sinbad knows it as he learnt it from the Yambala tribe”, Spartos explained.

“Ah”, Hakuryuu sighed. “Of course.”

Spartos only smiled a little in response, showing his amusement.

Their lesson was cut short when Yamraiha pranced in with Judar in tow.

“This site is needed for my new experiment”, Yamraiha announced, gesturing around, “in a new spell combining Water Magic with Clairvoyance Magic to develop a system that allows us to supervise the events that occur within the premises of the protective barrier that we set up so we can utilize--”

Yamraiha kept prattling on and on, walking past Hakuryuu towards Spartos, explaining details of the spell surely no-one else around even understood. Well, except for maybe the magi. He stayed behind where Hakuryuu was standing, looking at the prince and hitting his fingers together to mimic a mouth as Yamraiha kept going with a voice that now faded to the background.

“You’re coming here for some spell?”

“Me? No way, I’m trying to find a moment to slip away without anyone noticing”, Judar complained with a bored expression.

“I guess my lesson will be cut short then”, Hakuryuu observed as the field was being set up for something completely different.

“Yeah, it’s taken now”, Judar affirmed, looking at the scene. “You know what. Come with me”, he suddenly said, smirking at Hakuryuu.

“Why?”

“Why? So I can slip away, of course!” Judar announced like it was obvious and pushed Hakuryuu away from the field with him.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit obvious that this is just an excuse for you?” Hakuryuu asked unamused as he followed Judar on his way downtown. Judar turned to look at Hakuryuu, hands behind his head seemingly leaning back as he let Gravity Magic float him forward.

“And what are they going to do to a foreign prince and a great magi? Complain a bit?” Judar dismissed him with a laugh.

“I thought that you would have enjoyed practising magic?” Hakuryuu commented, but Judar grimaced. “If it’s creating a lightning cannon to blow the hell out of an entire mountain? Hell yes! Some boring ass protective bullshit on the other hand?” Judar rolled his eyes. Hakuryuu nodded slowly.

Judar pushed Hakuryuu to a merchant selling food and told him to pick something as a snack. “What exactly did you want to do?” Hakuryuu asked while picking up his squid treat.

“Anything really. But since you are a foreigner, tell me something about what’s going on out there”, Judar leaned his cheek on his hand as they sat at a little table outdoors.

“That’s a pretty broad subject.”

“Just something.”

“Well...” Hakuryuu thought for a moment. “My sister got the Kouga to join the empire. Kou is spreading westward quickly. If my cousin gets successfully married to the King of Balbadd, it’s only a matter of time when that country ends up under Kou as well.”

Judar’s expression had turned sour.

“What? Are you worried that our army will come for Sindria too?”

Judar huffed. “I wish!”

Hakuryuu couldn’t follow.

“Everyone gets to conquer and fight to their hearts content out there! I want to fight toooooooo...” Judar started complaining.

“Then, why don’t you just go out there and fight?” Hakuryuu asked, but Judar waved him off.

“I can’t leave.”

Before Hakuryuu could ask for elaboration, Ja’far found them and that was the end of that break.

Much happened in the following weeks. Sinbad, Ja’far and Masrur left for Balbadd and came back with three travellers: Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana. Alibaba, though being a prince of Balbadd that had now fallen under Kou without an arranged marriage, treated Hakuryuu nicely. It turned out Aladdin was a magi too, looking for a teacher (“Yamraiha should teach you. Judar might be a magi, but he is no good. He would only teach you to impale people”), and Hakuryuu couldn’t believe his luck. In order to get a djinn for himself, he now had better chances than ever.

“Look at that”, Judar gestured at the sight of Sharrkan and Alibaba practising sword fighting. “How many days has it been, and he still hasn’t figured out full-body djinn equip”, Judar was unimpressed, but also trying to think of a reason for this.

“It can’t be the easiest thing to do. Djinns are such powerful weapons”, Hakuryuu tried to defend the boy who was quickly becoming a friend to him, but Judar shook his head.

“It’s not _that_ difficult!”

Hakuryuu shrugged. “I don’t feel like I can judge. With a djinn, I might end up in the same situation.”

Judar turned to look at him with an unbelieving expression.

“What’s that for?”

“You would not end up in the same situation.”

“I might.”

“No, you might not”, Judar said, dismissive and confident. That is when Sinbad arrived at where they were standing – or Hakuryuu was standing and Judar was lounging away as always. He greeted Hakuryuu, but Judar cut their conversation short. “Look at that”, he repeated, this time to Sinbad.

“If you are referring to Prince Alibaba’s djinn equip, I think that a bad mixing of rukhs might be the cause”, Sinbad said, but Judar sighed. “I think that he is just an incompetent idiot.”

“Don’t say that, Alibaba shows much potential. He has his heart in the right place and is a great guide to those around him”, Sinbad explained.

“I don’t care about any of that! Do you see how he walks around smiling at everyone? He keeps smiling at me too even though I try to give him my scariest expressions. It’s so gross!” Judar whined pretending to puke, and Sinbad shook his head.

“Don’t mind about Judar”, he told Hakuryuu while guiding him away. “I was actually looking for you.”

“Me? What is it?”

“I thought that you and our new guests should indulge yourselves in some dungeon diving.”

And so, Sinbad explained the plan. On a nearby Torran archipelago, there was the dungeon of Zagan. Sinbad or his household could not enter; they had been basically banned from dungeons when Sinbad had tried to conquer his eighth. But a group of four with a dungeon capturer and a magi...

“Shouldn’t Sindria’s magi come with us? Two magis would be better than one”, Alibaba asked.

“He can’t go with you as he is needed here. But I am sure that you resourceful kids can clear it on your own with no problem”, Sinbad reassured them.

Now sure there was some problem with the dungeon eating people and this being almost like a rescue mission but... Hakuryuu was very, very content. Without even having to ask, a dungeon quest had been presented to him, and if he hadn’t been so proper mannered, there might have been a jump to his steps.

“You look way too cheerful for someone on his way to a death trap”, Judar commented as Hakuryuu ran into him a bit later that evening. Hakuryuu turned to look at him and took a proper posture.

“Do you think you have what it takes?” the magi approached him and asked.

“If I don’t, then I die. I was too weak and failed my mission. That is how it is”, Hakuryuu simply stated, and Judar hmm’d as a response.

“A mission? So a dungeon was your goal after all, huh? I knew there was something more under that innocent, pretty face of yours”, Judar smirked at him as if he had cracked some code.

“One of the goals maybe... I’ll talk about it with King Sinbad later. You don’t need to worry your peach-filled brain with it”, Hakuryuu commented dryly, but Judar only seemed to enjoy the banter.

“What if the djinn chooses the Balbadd prince instead? Will you try again somewhere else? How long do you think your luck will follow you?” Judar wouldn’t drop the subject. However, Hakuryuu had clear goals.

“This isn’t about luck but my hard work. I alone will reach my own goals, with my own power. And if it means conquering a dungeon all on my own, then so be it.”

Judar chuckled at Hakuryuu’s response. “Silly boy, you can’t defeat a dungeon all alone. I don’t think anyone’s ever done that. No, not even Sinbad.”

Hakuryuu thought for a moment. “Well, there are two magis close to me right now. And I wouldn’t let them slip from my reach.”

Judar only smirked at the implication but didn’t protest. “I think you should go and have fun with the others.”

“Didn’t you just say I shouldn’t be too cheerful as I am on my way to my death?”

“No. I think that you have all it takes to come out of that dungeon alive”, Judar said, waved a goodbye and went on his way.

The dungeon was... acting up. The dungeon itself, the creatures in it... Hakuryuu didn’t really know what to make of the earlier encouragement he got when everything he encountered there seemed to prove that he was simply holding his fellows back. All went from bad to worse when some members of Al-Thamen appeared. A Princess of Musta’sim, Dunya, the knight Isaac, and Ithnan... Ithnan who recognized him as a Kou prince and seemed to be the one leading the group. An important member of Al-Thamen, Hakuryuu deducted.

With the help of Aladdin’s illusion creating magic, they were able to defeat Dunya and Isaac and kill Ithnan. This is when, in the treasury, they were met by the djinn Zagan.

“My master is... you!” Zagan announced, pointing at Hakuryuu, who seemed more surprised than anything. Apparently, he had talented skills for using Zagan specifically, plus a lot of magoi.

“There are other, more capable people in this treasury”, Hakuryuu commented.

“You mean your comrade Alibaba? Out of question! He can’t handle even one djinn equip!” Zagan whined, and just for a moment it seemed so familiar to Hakuryuu.

While gathering up all of the treasures and people in the dungeon, Hakuryuu was suddenly bit by a snake to the hand. It didn’t hurt much but left an unfortunate bite mark.

He had a djinn now. He had a djinn. He had succeeded. This was it.

“Why do you look like as if your mission ends here?” Zagan had asked Hakuryuu suddenly. “This is where it begins. What you decide to do with this power is for you to choose.” And it brought Hakuryuu back to his reality. He had one djinn. Now he only had to talk to Sinbad, and Hakuei, and also kill his mother somehow. Little things like that.

The beaten and battered dungeon conquerors were welcomed by a cheering crowd in Sindria, and a festival was announced (these guys sure liked partying, huh?) There were foods, dancing, performances, music and drinks all around, and it resembled his first night on the island so much.

“See? Not dead”, came a smug comment from someone to Hakuryuu’s right where he was sitting alone at a table. The familiar figure of the magi Judar slid on the long bench next to him and helped himself some of the drink Hakuryuu had been taking.

“In the dungeon, Zagan said some similar things about my capability as you did earlier... How did you know?” Hakuryuu wondered, and Judar took a confident pose like explaining these things were his calling and joy.

“Because I am a great magi, of course! I have an eye for these things, seeing who has what it takes and so on”, he explained and yes, maybe he had had this talk before. Many, many times.

“Like someone like Sinbad?”

“Well, he had metal vessels before I had even met him. But he does have the magoi pool, charisma and underlying ruthlessness needed for the job for sure”, Judar spoke quite casually and plopped some grapes into his mouth.

“Ruthlessness?” Hakuryuu glanced behind him at Alibaba, who was laughing with Sharrkan at Aladdin’s silly poses. “Not exactly a word I’d use to describe Alibaba.”

“I know right? He is so unfit for a King Vessel I have no idea what that Shorty was thinking!” Judar slapped his hand on the table for emphasis.

Going back to Sinbad, “If another magi had already raised dungeons that Sinbad conquered, why exactly are you here?”

“Look, Yunan is a weirdo. He wasn’t here in the first place, so it was totally free estate for me!” Judar got defensive. “Now that I think of it, maybe he didn’t want to get nagged at all day and that’s why he never showed up here.”

“The only reason you’re being ‘nagged at’ is because you annoy people on purpose...”

“I know that!” Judar said with no shame. Hakuryuu didn’t know if he was about sigh or chuckle when suddenly, a stinging pain hit through his arm like a giant needle. He let out a pained sound and held his arm.

“You okay?” Judar sounded uncharacteristically worried, but Hakuryuu waved him off.

“It’s just a minor injury I got in the dungeon, no biggie.”

It didn’t seem like Judar believed him though, and he grabbed Hakuryuu’s hand even though the other tried to pull it back from his grasp. “What are you doing?” Hakuryuu asked, annoyed and panicked and confused, but Judar only pointed at his bite marks.

“What are these?”

“A snake bit me...” Hakuryuu answered.

“Must have been one hell of a snake because your hand is completely overtaken by black rukh!”

“........ what?” was all Hakuryuu could get out after a pause.

“The rukh in your arm. Is black. It belongs to someone else. A magi like me could easily tell”, Judar explained, and he pulled Hakuryuu up from the bench and started nudging him away to get the arm inspected.

Then Hakuryuu’s arm fell off and both the prince and the magi simply stared at it for a moment, not quite believing what they had just seen.

Hakuryuu’s surprised yell alerted other people around them as he looked at his arm on the ground and the stump that was left. Sinbad hurried over to see what was going on, and he looked at his magi questioningly, but Judar only shrugged with confusion. The fallen arm started suddenly crumbling into little specs of black rukh before gathering together, forming the visage of a green-haired man with a goatee. He had a smug smile on his face, but Hakuryuu or anyone around didn’t seem to recognize him.

“Who is he?” Hakuryuu asked and turned to Judar. It was supposed to be only a glance, but the expression of what looked to be mild terror on his face got Hakuryuu to focus his attention on Judar for a moment instead. Maybe no one else around knew who this guy was, but Judar absolutely did.

“Oh, you don’t recognize me like this? In that case...” and with a wave of his hand, the strange man had robes and a mask covering him, revealing him to be that Ithnan from the dungeon. Everyone was suddenly on the offensive when Ithnan announced his challenge.

“So this is Sindria...” he said as he looked around the angry crowd. “I have trouble breathing here. How can you take it?” Ithnan suddenly fixed his gaze on Judar. “To be surrounded by so much happiness and white rukh when you yourself have Al-Thamen's black. You runaway child...”

This got no reaction from Sinbad or any of the Generals, but to Hakuryuu and the other guests it was a complete surprise. Hakuryuu, still holding his arm, turned to Judar again, this time with a shocked expression of his own. If Ithnan had tried to provoke Judar, it seemed to have worked. Now the magi seemed more angry than anything else.

Ithnan didn’t wait for Judar to answer – not that he was going to – before attacking the crowd with his magic. Sharrkan jumped in and quickly sliced him to pieces, but this only cause more Ithnan clones to spawn. Alibaba sliced another one, but that caused some gross, black goo to splatter out of it.

“Watch out!” someone yelled, and suddenly the areas near Judar and Aladdin were shielded with borgs. Still, the goo managed to hit Sinbad and Alibaba.

“Despite the magis’ efforts, it is too late for you two now”, Ithnan pointed at the two affected, who were now surrounded with screeching black rukh. “You will submit to the will of our Father and become black kings.” The so-called “Curse of Death” to force its targets to fall into depravity... The Sindrians had become furious that their king was attacked, but Aladdin told everyone to stand back as an attack would only worsen the situation.

“See? There is no crevice in this world we couldn’t reach. No matter how many barriers and distant islands you hide in”, Ithnan said to Judar and rose to the air. “I can’t stand to stay here anymore... Thank you for the vessel to live in, prince”, he added at Hakuryuu (to the boy’s shock) before disappearing into dark rukh.

A commotion started immediately. “Help the injured!” came the order, but the people standing close to Hakuryuu were quiet.

“Ithnan is an idiot”, Judar eventually stated, and Sinbad chuckled.

“Yet you still let Alibaba get hit.”

“Shut up”, came Judar’s response as he scratched the back of his head.

Alibaba wasn’t so calm. He was looking at his black arm with fear, and Aladdin quickly went to get Yamraiha to join them and look at it.

“What did he mean by a Curse of Death?” Alibaba asked, a bit panicked.

“There are no such things as curses”, Sinbad reassured him.

“This is a form of magic”, Judar nodded in agreement.

“What is it like? If it’s magic, it can be reversed”, Aladdin said hopefully.

Yamraiha explained to him: “Judar has survived from this spell... But we don’t really know anything about it. Now, if only he had let me do experiments on his—”

“Hands off”, Judar shot her down immediately.

“I thought you had strange rukh”, Aladdin commented, and Judar shrugged.

“It’s none of your business.”

“I know.”

“In any case”, Sinbad cut in, “you go take Alibaba inside and try to find a way to reverse it. I’m taking care of Ithnan.”

“What do you mean taking care of...?” Alibaba tried to ask as Sinbad went walking to a different direction, but Judar kicked him in the legs to force him to get moving. “Hurry up, kid.” (“What do you mean kid? We’re only one year apart!”)

Later as Sinbad came back, Alibaba was lying down in pain, barely conscious. Surrounded by him were Aladdin, Yamraiha and Judar, but it was mostly Yamraiha who tried to use her magic to alleviate his pain. Aladdin was just a beginner and Judar had little interest in Healing Magic, magi or not.

“This curse will eat his rukh alive at this rate and we can only slow it down”, Yamraiha explained.

“Could Alibaba survive if his body accepted the dark rukh? Even if it made him fallen”, Sinbad asked, mostly from Judar who was amused by the question.

“I don’t think his body would let that happen.”

Sinbad thought for a moment. Alibaba’s flesh would only die as the different rukhs inside of him battled for dominance. Luckily, he had grabbed a little something with him from Balbadd.

“You have a power to fix this, don’t you, Aladdin?”

And Aladdin used something called Solomon’s Wisdom to interact with Alibaba’s rukh. As both were lying unconscious on the floor, the two other magicians turned to Sinbad with surprised expressions.

“What? Why did you think I took these kids in if not for a reason?” Sinbad asked with a smile.

Yamraiha had starts in her eyes. “This kind of magic... I’ve never seen it before...!”

Judar rolled his eyes at her, and Sinbad let out a small laugh. “Well, to be serious”, he said after his laugh, “it is very worrying that an Al-Thamen member was able to make it inside the barrier.” And the atmosphere turned sour again, Judar especially looking grim.

The evening of the following day, Hakuryuu was walking on the beach, his stump of an arm finally patched. The warm wind brought the scent of the ocean to the shores and rustled the palm leaves, and in that sunset the place looked like a true paradise. Hakuryuu continued his walk on the sand his boot sank to when he noticed that he wasn’t on the beach alone.

Hakuryuu’s approaching steps alerted Judar, who turned to look at him from where he was sitting on a rock, earlier deep in thought.

“How’s your arm?” he asked.

“It’s fine.”

“Hm. Good.”

The light breeze ruffled Hakuryuu’s hair as he thought of how to phrase what he had in mind. “I um... I am sorry for what happened earlier.”

Judar looked confused. “What happened?”

“I mean, bringing that man here. From the organization.”

“Pfft”, Judar waved him off. “Alibaba is fine now and Ithnan is dead. At least Sinbad and the little twerp say so.”

“No I meant, there was clearly some history between him and you”, Hakuryuu tried to explain.

“Right”, Judar scratched the back of his neck. “When I said that I can’t leave Sindria, this is what I meant. Up until now, they haven’t been able to catch me from here.”

Hakuryuu was silent for a moment. “If it means anything, I get it. The organization... has also done bad things to me... Even though I am a Kou prince, I have no support for them!”

“And I should believe you?” Judar asked with a chilly smile.

“Well... I know I can’t really prove--” images of the fire flashed in Hakuryuu’s eyes.

“I believe you.”

Hakuryuu, who had been looking at the ground by this point, turned his gaze back to Judar. “Why?”

“Because every time they or that witch Gyokuen get brought up, you have that haunted look in your eyes.”

Hakuryuu nodded as a response. “She organized the death of my father and brothers”, Hakuryuu confessed. For a moment, Judar didn’t say anything.

“Well, since you told me”, he broke the silence. “I was raised in Al-Thamen as a kid. I guess they just wanted to use my magi powers. Still, I left eleven years ago or so.”

“Where are you truly from then?” Hakuryuu asked.

“I don’t really know. But isn’t that what Sindria is like? A place for anyone with nowhere else to go.”

Hakuryuu hmm’d in agreement. Then suddenly, Judar started grinning and sat up from where he sat. “I have an idea.”

“What is it?”

“I’ll teach you to use Zagan!”

“Is that really appropriate when you are Sindria and Sinbad’s magi?” Hakuryuu was worried he’d lose his chances of getting Sinbad’s favour.

“Would I care if it wasn’t? Sinbad is an idiot, but not even he is deluded enough to think he could order me around.” So as always, Judar didn’t really care much for rules or respect.

As Hakuryuu spent his time thinking why Judar wanted to help him, he quickly came to the conclusion that it was just to spite Alibaba. It did not, after all, take long for Hakuryuu to master his djinn equip. He had fumbled around for a while one-handed before understanding that he could use the metal vessel to create a new one.

“Would’ve been cooler if the metal vessel had made you spit lightning or something”, Judar said, a bit disappointed.

“No, this is good. You need to learn the powers and limits of the metal vessel and then use them the way that benefits you the most... I can certainly find diverse uses for these”, Hakuryuu explained confidently.

“Right... Well, don’t fight Sinbad’s Zepar if you want to avoid someone going tactical with djinn powers”, Judar warned him quite casually. Sinbad, who had shown up at the edge of the training field, cleared his throat.

“Judar, don’t reveal military secrets to outsiders”, Sinbad reminded Judar a bit tersely, but still smiled at Hakuryuu with calm sincerity. “Besides, Baal can shoot lightning. Isn’t that enough for you?”

“But you’re so old!” Judar shot back. “I’m switching to a younger one.”

Sinbad almost choked to death right then and there. Hakuryuu had difficulties to keep his face straight.

After a bit of practise, Hakuryuu noticed he would have plenty of free time for the evening. “Do you know if Sindria’s library has any reading I could do about this?” he asked Judar.

“Um”, Judar thought out loud. “I don’t really do much reading or like that... I’m more of a ‘try it out in practise’ person.”

“I think I can see that”, Hakuryuu admitted, and it made sense now that he thought about it. “I’m just used to studying, I think. At home, that’s what I did all the time.”

“No hobbies?”

“Well, I have some. But I mostly tried to keep a low profile, so... studying and spear practise it is.”

“What are your hobbies, then?” Judar asked, and Hakuryuu thought he was oddly interested.

“Don’t laugh at me if I tell you”, Hakuryuu warned him, and Judar raised his hands in front of himself as he defended himself.

“Why would I, I’m the one who asked.”

“Because, what I really like to do was taught to me by my sister... was cooking.”

“Cooking?” Judar asked, and Hakuryuu nodded. Then Judar clapped his hands together abruptly, making Hakuryuu flinch. “Then you should cook me something! For dinner.”

“Would that be okay?”

“What? You’re just agreeing to it?” Judar seemed more surprised to get his way without any complaining.

“It’s just, I don’t usually have anyone to taste test what I make. So it would be nice to get to share with someone. Especially since I have nothing more for the evening.”

“Well, in that case...” Judar began his march inside the palace, “to the kitchens!”

Hakuryuu got to explain his steps to an audience of not only Judar but also a few of Sindria’s young cooks. He decided to fix something from Reim as they had the ingredients and that was precisely what Hakuryuu had been practising lately. The aspiring cooks seemed very excited and complimented the little they could taste before having to hurry back to their work, leaving Hakuryuu and Judar alone.

“Maybe I should cook for the staff. As a thank you for their hard work”, Hakuryuu thought out loud while stirring the pot.

“Why? It’s their job”, Judar asked, but Hakuryuu shook his head.

“It’s still not a bad idea to be polite. Especially since I am a guest here.”

“Surprisingly humble from a prince.”

Not really. A prince or a king was nothing, after all, without the people who support him and believe in his cause.

He was happy to see that Judar liked the finished meal. Despite the fact it wasn’t very peach heavy.

“Well, you can always cook for this member of the staff”, Judar said and Hakuryuu didn’t know what he had expected really.

Later that evening, he approached Sinbad with his request – for Sindria to aid Hakuryuu when he went on his mission to destroy the Kou Empire. A request that was granted. Hakuryuu had now ticked all of the boxes on his mission list.

“Did you hear what Prince Hakuryuu came to ask me earlier?” Sinbad asked his magi.

“I did.”

Sinbad nodded, satisfied. “This fits perfectly. Now we have a game piece in Kou Empire as well.”

Judar looked at him from his side, expression way less content.

“Now it’s not a bad thing at all that you spent that time teaching him. Getting closer to him actually works for our benefit”, Sinbad stated, looking down at the scenery of Sindria from the balcony.

After a short pause: “Sinbad...”

“Yeah?”

Judar’s expression turned just a bit smug. “Are you jealous?”

Sinbad might have been full of denial, but Judar flew away laughing at him.

“Hakkkuryuu—!” Judar spotted Hakuryuu and circled around to his front.

Now, Hakuryuu had ticked all of the boxes on his mission list and had no further business in Sindria. _But_.

“Good morning”, he greeted with a small smile and got a grin in return.

“Are you free now?”

Hakuryuu gave an apologetic look. “I have some training, and things to deal with Sinbad...”

Judar pouted in disappointment.

“But...” Hakuryuu added, “I have some time in the evening...”

And like that, many days passed. On one dinner, Judar complained that Sinbad was occupying Hakuryuu’s time on purpose. Hakuryuu only rolled his eyes at the games going on between the king and magi.

The Sindrian waves felt comfortably cool on Hakuryuu’s toes anytime he came to the beach to cool off in the sunset. The humid warmth would’ve been bad enough even without the layers and layers of Kou clothing Hakuryuu draped himself with every single day – a habit which caused much questioning from his newly acquired friend of a magician (Hakuryuu would still stick to his country’s traditions, was the explanation. He had appearances to keep, after all).

Speaking of said magician. While lost in his thoughts, Hakuryuu got splashed with the cool water, wetting his clothes and hair from head to toe.

“Hey!” he exclaimed and started sloshing towards the source of his problem. Judar laughed at him, running away, slow as it might have been in the knee-deep waters. It ended up in a pretty awkward attempt at a game of catch, both trying to move in the water and sand without tripping, and although Hakuryuu was now way more soaked than he would’ve been if he had simply let it go, he was having fun. Like actually chuckling-out-loud fun.

Then, just as Hakuryuu was close enough to grab Judar by the sleeve of his Sindrian robes, he did trip. Pushing Judar towards the beach and making him fall on his back while Hakuryuu crashed on top of him. “Ow!” Judar complained from the bottom of the pile, and Hakuryuu lifted himself with his hands just enough that he could see Judar, their bodies and chests still against each other.

Both of them were taking deep, exhausted breaths left after the whole playing around, not saying anything and simply looking at each other. Just for a moment, those breaths and the waves were the only sounds one could hear, and Hakuryuu felt lost in those seconds, simply looking at the man below him.

Then Judar used one of his hands to splash water right at Hakuryuu’s face, and the moment was lost. Judar laughed, and as a revenge Hakuryuu splashed some water on him instead. Judar grabbed Hakuryuu’s arm to make him stop, and in order to keep balance, Hakuryuu was now crouching above him, foreheads nearly touching. Neither said anything for another moment.

“Do you feel it?” Judar asked.

“I think so”, Hakuryuu admitted before finally sitting up and next to Judar who remained laying down, each coming wave reaching to his neck. “I don’t really know how to feel about it.”

And he didn’t know. It was a wrench in his plot machine, taking his focus away from what was the most important. But at the same time, it was all so welcome.

Judar glanced up at Hakuryuu. “You know, I don’t know much about a lot of things and that’s never stopped me before.”

Hakuryuu snorted. “I guess you’re right.”

Unfortunately, very soon a time did come where he had to return to his home country. Fortunately, it was not without some new plans. Judar had managed to convince Hakuryuu that Gyokuen was not someone he could ever take alone. Luckily for Hakuryuu, he had managed to make some allies who would be more than happy to help him out with that. Then Judar, too, could journey into the world instead of having to ask travellers for their stories and news. And hopefully come back to his home country...

Hakuryuu set on that path, more determined than ever.


End file.
